NHTSA Complaint #11511950 — 2018 FORD EDGE

We purchased this used vehicle, a Ford Edge Titanium with an Ecoboost 2.0 engine on January 19, 2023 from the Kia Store in Clarksburg, Indiana. During the first 30 days while still under dealership warranty the Check Engine Light (CEL) lit up. A scan at a local repair shop on January 31, 2023 indicated a misfire on Cylinder 3. (p0303) When the CEL lit up again tech at the Kia dealership examined the vehicle on February 06, 2023 and said that nothing appeared to be wrong with the vehicle. When the CEL lit up again and we took the car back to the local repair shop who recommended all new spark plugs. That repair was performed. A few days later the CEL lit up again and a new ignition coil for cylinder 3 was recommended and that repair was performed. Recently, the CEL has lit up yrt sgsom and we also noticed that the vehicle is consuming coolant. There are no leaks and no coolant on the floor. After some research I discovered that these 2018 Ford Ecoboost engines appear to have a significant deaign flaw. In 2017 Ford stopped using a "closed deck" design in favor of an "open deck" design. Since then coolant intrusion into cylinders, mostly cylinders 2 and 4 have become commonplace. I understand that in 2022 Ford actually sent our a service bulletin (I think that is what it was) about this design flaw. I also understand that Ford routinely declines to cover the repairs if the vehicle is out of warranty, which we are. Unfortunately the indicated repair is a long block relacement. When we puchased the vehicle we also purchased a 3rd party extended warranty. If and when we suffer a breakdown that requires a replacement engine, the extended warranty covers the costs. Above and beyond the engine replacement costs, if this engine fails while we are driving it, the results could be catastrophic for us and others on the road.